Kerk in Nederhorst den Berg c. 1643 - 1677

This is Roelant Roghman's etching of the Kerk in Nederhorst den Berg, a humble church that rises towards the heavens, an orientation echoed in the trees to the right. The church steeple, a beacon of faith, pierces the sky, a visual echo of the divine aspiration found in Gothic cathedrals. But here, the steeple is more modest, more integrated with the landscape, reflecting a Protestant sensibility. Compare it with the Tower of Babel, which, in its ambition, sought to usurp the divine. The church steeple, by contrast, seeks only to reach towards it. This symbol of aspiration recurs throughout art history, a visual embodiment of mankind's yearning for the transcendent, a potent reminder of our eternal quest.